The present invention relates to an electrical connector provided with a fitting detecting function.
One conventional example of this type of connector is described in JP 4-33666. In this example, one of a pair of housings capable of fitting mutually together is provided with a locking arm which bends resiliently as the two housings are being fitted together, returns to its original position when the two housings are correctly fitted together, and retains the other housing. This housing is also provided with a detecting member capable of being inserted from the exterior into the interior of the space along which the locking arm moves. The locking arm makes contact with the detecting member as this locking arm moves resiliently, thereby regulating the insertion of the detecting member. By this means, it can be detected whether the two housings have been correctly fitted together.
This detecting member is comparatively small. Consequently, it may be dropped and lost as it is inserted into or removed from the housing. As a result, the detecting member is kept attached in a temporary position to the exterior of the space along which the locking arm moves.
However, in the conventional example, components which retain the detecting member in an unremovable state when it is in the temporary position consist of a stepped member which protrudes from a side face of the detecting member, and a protrusion which engages with the stepped member and which is provided on a side wall that guides the sliding of the detecting member. These components are bulky, particularly in the width-wise direction of the housing (the direction at a right-angle to the direction of insertion of the detecting member), and could be improved.
The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to provide this improvement.
According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector comprising two mutually engageable connector housings, one of said housings having a resilient latching arm for engaging and retaining the other of said housings in a fully fitted condition, said latching arm having a bending space to permit bending thereof during movement of said housings through a half fitted condition to the fully fitted condition, and wherein a detecting member is insertable from the exterior into said bending space, insertion of said detecting member being prevented by bending of said latching arm in the half fitted condition.
Preferably the latching arm is a cantilever having a free end engageable by a frame-like aperture of said detecting member, the detecting member being slidable on said one housing in the direction of attachment with said other housing.
In a preferred embodiment the detecting member has a resilient elongate member extending in said attachment direction and engageable by an abutment of said one connector housing to prevent further movement into said bending space, a releasing member of the other connector housing bending said elongate member out of engagement with said abutment to permit movement into said bending space when said latching member is not bent.
The detecting member preferably has two parallel, resilient elongate members in mirror image and having mutually facing recesses for engagement by respective abutments of said other housing.